The Purpose of Music in Missions
The purpose of culture is not to reach the lost or give authentic expression for Christians; it is to express and cultivate right worship. In… Read More »The Purpose of Music in Missions
Articles
Browse articles on various topics below.
Defining pop culture
Unfortunately, according to Cecil Sharp and Vaughan Williams, folk music as an art is largely dead, and this provides the first evidence of a distinction… Read More »Defining pop culture
Multiculturalism and Contextualization
In a recent interview, mission leader C. Douglas McConnell was asked to name the greatest challenge facing the global evangelical missions movement today. He responded,… Read More »Multiculturalism and Contextualization
Missions and the antithesis
Last week, I spoke at the Preserving the Truth Conference in Troy, MI. Of the three points that I made in my presentation (notes, audio),… Read More »Missions and the antithesis
Distinguishing high culture from folk culture
A primary goal of Vaughan Williams was, of course, to compose art music. His many hours finding and indexing folk tunes resulted in the use… Read More »Distinguishing high culture from folk culture
Multiculturalism: You Might Be Surprised
South Africa has more official languages than any other country: English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele, Tswana, Sotho, Pedi, Venda, Tsonga and Swazi. These languages represent… Read More »Multiculturalism: You Might Be Surprised
Finding common ground in the missions debate
Here’s the reality: those of us blogging here fully realize that our positions are not popular. Not popular, I suppose, greatly underestimates the matter: for… Read More »Finding common ground in the missions debate
Differences and Universals in Music Across Cultures
A missionary cannot properly evaluate the differences among cultural expressions until he has understood their universals. At the root of the most thoughtful defenses of… Read More »Differences and Universals in Music Across Cultures
A Humble Request and Prolegomena
In my handful of posts this month, I want to give some anecdotes from church history to inform us as to how missionaries, attempting to… Read More »A Humble Request and Prolegomena
Paul and Cultural Critique: Titus 1:12-13
In relation to critiquing other cultures in an age of cultural relativism, Titus 1:12-13 caught my eye a couple of years ago as I was… Read More »Paul and Cultural Critique: Titus 1:12-13
Vaughan William’s interest in English folk songs
An interest in English folk songs emerged in England toward the end of the nineteenth century. By 1898 the Folk Song Society was founded, and… Read More »Vaughan William’s interest in English folk songs
Missions and Music
One of missionaries most challenging issues is what kind of music to use as they plant indigenous churches. Two extremes exist: on the one hand… Read More »Missions and Music
See Amid the Winter's Snow
The concept often referred to as the humiliation of God the Son—the notion that the second person of the Trinity emptied himself of the full… Read More »See Amid the Winter's Snow
Conservative Christians will be committed to transmitting these worship forms to future generations
Conservative Christianity, at its heart, is committed to preserving transcendent ideas rooted in the very nature and character of God. It seeks to accomplish this… Read More »Conservative Christians will be committed to transmitting these worship forms to future generations
Incarnation Hymnody: "O Holy Night"
Over the years, I’ve become hesitant to sing “O Holy Night,” a Christmas song widely used as a solo because of its dramatic nature and vocal difficulty. Our… Read More »Incarnation Hymnody: "O Holy Night"
Distinguishing High, Folk, and Pop Culture
A common error exists frequently in contemporary discussions of the use of folk idioms as a compositional element in art music. Many authors today equate… Read More »Distinguishing High, Folk, and Pop Culture
Translating vs. Transforming
Millard Erickson, in his Christian Theology, speaks of two different approaches to contemporising the message of Christianity. One is to translate the message, and the other… Read More »Translating vs. Transforming
Conservative Christians will be committed to worship forms that have been nurtured within the community of faith
In order to conserve transcendent ideas about God, conservatives are committed to worship regulated by God’s Word, and they are also committed to discerning between… Read More »Conservative Christians will be committed to worship forms that have been nurtured within the community of faith
Reverence in prayer
The section on prayer in John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion is surely one of the most beloved passages of that influential work. Therein,… Read More »Reverence in prayer
Incarnation Hymnody: "Angels, from the Realms of Glory"
Continuing our series on incarnation hymnody, we take a look today at “Angels, from the Realms of Glory.” ___________________________ “Angels, from the Realms of Glory”… Read More »Incarnation Hymnody: "Angels, from the Realms of Glory"